Community Crusader

An Interview with Reverend Anthony Motley

By Jennifer Bauman, Volunteer and Tour Assistant

Blueprints Fall 2007
Volume XXV, No. 4

Reverend Anthony Motley, who founded the Redemption Ministry in southeast Washington in 1993, is on a crusade. From education to affordable housing, Reverend Motley works to improve all aspects of the District’s perpetually changing neighborhoods. He also plays a role in the Museum’s Investigating Where We Live (IWWL) summer education program, assisting with participant recruitment and transportation.

Jennifer Bauman: IWWL encourages participants to examine various influences on D.C. neighborhoods. Why is it important for children to understand how a neighborhood changes?

Reverend Anthony Motley: It is important that youth get involved so that they will appreciate the history and contribution their neighborhoods make to the overall life of the city, but also to learn to protect their neighborhoods from such things as crime, drugs, violence, and overdevelopment. To witness the change and appreciate the need for change in a responsible manner in my estimation is predicated on one’s knowledge of the past. Therefore, when discussing the present and planning for the future, one will do so within a context that is culturally, socially, and historically sensitive regarding the past.

Bauman: All progress represents change but all change is not progress. Does this statement apply to the current housing/commercial boom in D.C.?

Motley: Yes, most definitely. Change is occurring at record levels and in most instances it is happening without the full participation of those whom this change is bound to affect in the long term. D.C. must be true to its promise to bring about community-driven development. I think that the developers have all had their day in the sun and have reaped bountiful profits from our development opportunities. Now is the time for the District to ensure that the projects—whether they are for-profit or non-profit, residential or commercial incorporate the true ideals, aspirations, and desires of the community.

Bauman: Can you tell me a little about your crusade for affordable housing in the District?

Motley: Several years ago I began to recognize that more and more of our residents were leaving the District. Housing units were being boarded up, and it looked as though no one was attempting to address this crisis. The more I got involved in the life of the community the more I understood the challenges faced by families with low to moderate incomes. So, I proposed to the Board of Directors of Inner Thoughts, Inc., my first non-profit, [which provides] educational and cultural programs to youth, that we amend our Articles of Incorporation to include development of affordable housing. They accepted my proposal and in 2003 we became a certified Community Housing Development Organization in the District. In working with Bob Boulter of Faithworks, Inc., who became a technical advisor to our group, we forged a relationship with Richard Carr of Carr Enterprises, and later formed what is now the Anacostia Community Land Trust. It is the goal of the Land Trust to make perpetual affordable housing opportunities available in the District.

Bauman: What would you say to the IWWL students as they investigate and explore the Anacostia, Navy Yard, and Congress Heights neighborhoods?

Motley: I have witnessed so much change-change from segregation to integration, from self-contained bustling communities to abandoned neighborhoods, torn both by the riots of 1968 and the flight that took place afterward, and from our own carelessness in maintaining the vibrancy of our communities. I would like to say to these students: Let us see the community through your eyes. Let us feel the community through your words, and most importantly let us be able to create a sense of hope for the future through the excellent work you are doing in the IWWL project. •

Major funding for Investigating Where We Live is provided by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; the Neighborhood Investment Fund, District of Columbia Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; and The Beech Street Foundation. Additional support for outreach programs is provided by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; The Capital Group Companies; The Clark Charitable Foundation; and The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, among others.

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